Brandis trying to remember whether he got a fee discount from his AAT selection … Grim reaper sweeps up George Masterman and former forensic medicine man … Tickets for Sydney Grill Room elections … Can former judges still be QCs? … Proper finery for attendees at Melbourne jamboree … And for High Court judges
NOT only has Lyin’ George Brandis misled the parliament over the solicitor general SNAFU, but he didn’t declare to Cabinet a conflict of interest when he appointed to the AAT a Liberal Party donor and lawyer for little Simon Brandis.
Simon, the son of Lyin’ George, was charged in 2014 with damaging a council bicycle. Brisbane solicitor Theo Tavoularis represented him and had the charges withdrawn after a justice mediation.
Five months earlier Tavoularis & Co Lawyers forked-up $1,200 to attend a Liberal Party dinner. Then in May this year Theo turns up on the list of Lyin’ George’s last-minute pre-election list of 76 appointments and disappointments to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with a $370,000 pa five-year gig.
George said that he’s a “highly respected Brisbane solicitor who has been an extremely well regarded member of the AAT”.
However, at this point the AG is not sure whether he arranged with Theo for a discounted fee to represent the young bicycle meddler.
Senator P. Wong was onto it at estimates on Monday (Oct. 17):
In September, after BuzzFeed blew the whistle with the story, the attorney reassured the senate:
“There is no conflict whatsoever.”
Shadow AG Mark Dreyfus was quick to point out that this failure to disclose was a clear breach of Cabinet rules, which require ministers to declare any conflicts in relation to government business or appointments.
Lyin’ George misled parliament over consultations with the solicitor general about the binding legal services direction and again to a senate committee about the SG’s advice on the constitutionality of amendments to the Citizenship Act.
Just for the record here’s item 49 from the Cabinet Handbook:
“Ministers and officials attending cabinet or cabinet committee meetings must, declare any private interests of which they are aware. This can include pecuniary interests, held by them or by members of their immediate family, which may give rise to a conflict with their public duties. Any such declarations will be recorded by the cabinet note takers.”
Some sad passings this month. George Masterman, glamour-puss silk of the Sydney bar was sent off in a farewell from a packed St Marks Church, Darling Point.
There were old barristers by the yard and plenty of others among the mourners including, Spiggsy Spigelman, famed law journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald John Slee and Jill Wran.
Anthony Payne of the Supreme Court spoke of George’s achievements as NSW Ombudsman, to which he was appointed by Nifty Neville Wran in 1981. Payne had been Masterman’s executive officer as Ombo. He mentioned the controversy of the wallopers keeping surveillance on the Ombudsman’s staff while they were were overseeing investigations into the coppers.
Masterman was a breath of fresh air after his predecessor Ken Smithers and was a widely regarded as a good, pro-active Ombudsman.
Our field agent reports a conversation of two codgers strolling down the church aisle:
What are you up to these days?
I’m farming.
Oh, where?
The Southern Highlands.
Are you specialising?
Not really, just pop down for the weekends.
It was all very eastern subs.
George was also at Oxford with Rupert Murdoch and remembers Rupe having a bust of Lenin in his room. Later the two of them went on a motoring trip in Europe where Masterman crashed the future mogul’s auto.
Masterman was also a big wheel at the Australian Institute for Political Science and its annual Canberra talkfests. He was a keen hockey player and Bondi bodysurfer and when he retired helped his wife Joan Ashton at her eco-tourism resort in Tassie’s Freycinet National Park.
He also did some big, early trade practices cases, including the Tooth’s litigation, which resulted in breaking the tied pubs racket.
Plus, he represented a clutch of nudists to preserve Lady Jane Beach for naked sunbathing.
Masterman died at age 87.
Justinian also notes the passing of Dr Godfry Oettle. He was well known to criminal lawyers and the police as the Director of Forensic Medicine. As such he was the pathologist in-charge at the Sydney Morgue.
His fascinating death notice appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on Oct. 7.
The name of famous crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen is missing from the list of candidates muscling-up for election to the council of the Sydney Grill Room & Oyster Bar.
Now that her Supreme Court appointment has retreated into the far horizon, the word on the Street of Shame is that Cunneen is likely soon to leave the prosecution business and head to the private bar.
Already election candidates are grouping into tickets. One of the first out of the blocks is the mediators’ ticket, with Mary Walker, Jeffrey Phillips and Nigel Cotman.
It sounds like déjà vu all over again.
ABA president Patrick O’Sullivan last week was forced to correct a story that Meretricious Merritt hashed in The Australian. The legal affairs scribbler had claimed that the NSW Grill had been dragged by the Legal Services Council into including mediation in the definition of barristers’ work, and that this was frightfully embarrassing.
In fact, the bars in NSW and Vic passed resolutions seeking amendments so that their rules could include mediators in the definition. It was then parlayed by the ABA into a new rule by the LSC.
“As such, the underlying premise of the article is misconceived,” wrote O’Sullivan.
On Friday, after 19 years as chief glassy at the Sydney Grill Room, Philip Selth, is hanging up his tea towel and handing over to Prof. Greg Tolhurst from Sydney Uni law school.
Selth stays on as CEO of the ABA, but leaves that position when Vic’s Willy Alstergren seizes power as president.
Sticklers have pointed out that the Fink signed his investigation into Vic’s membership of the Law Council of Australia as “Ray Finkelstein QC, Castan Chambers”.
This is entirely wrong, apparently, as the late Jim Merralls pointed out in a learned article for the Australian Bar Review.
Merralls said that the bauble is extinguished when a person becomes a judge, because you can’t be one of her majesty’s judges and one of her majesty’s counsel at the same time.
The QC doesn’t revive itself, so there are hundreds of ex-judges falsely claiming that they are QCs and Betty Battenberg is too polite to do anything about it.
The countdown to the ABA and Vic’s Bar joint corroboree and CLE points bonanza at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is getting more frantic.
Boris Anastassiou has arranged for a lucky attendee to win $1,500 worth of finery from Melbourne menswear retailer Henry Bucks, if you register before October 24. To register you’ll need $1,300.
Since Bucks is not known for women’s wear this should be a particularly happy conference come-on for men – less so for female lawyers, who are confined to the retailer’s “accessories of quality and style”.
Incredibly, instead of languishing on the backbench as a disgraced minister, attorney general Lyin’ George Brandis will be opening the massive chinwag. He’s a favourite of the monarchists and bauble lovers at Vic’s Bar.
To have a dose of George’s unctuous drivel jammed down everyone’s throat is going to be a real treat. Not to be outdone, Arthur Moses from the Sydney Grill Room has also lured the feline’s friend Mal Turnbull to show his tattered wares.
Everyone is expecting something to be announced. Maybe the next cab off the rank for the High Court. Maybe the abolition of legal aid funding. Maybe that Justin Gleeson has been allowed to advise on something. Maybe more about the government’s “compassionate” refugee policy on Nauru.
It could be exciting.
Have you noticed something strange with the seven judges at the top of the food chain? Yes, new robes for their Hons in Canberra, in merino wool and silk.
The design by Bill Haycock reflects “the function of the High Court in the Australian federation”.
“There are seven equal tucks reflecting the seven components of the federation – the states and the commonwealth. There is a hand-woven element in the sleeve ends based on sand ripple patterns and a triangular motif suggestive of the High Court’s function as the final court of appeal for Australia.”
The court even produced a fetching announcement about the new garb.
If only we could get a look at the costume in living colour.